The Third Destroyer and Rand's Sickness

Ever since Rand and the Wanderer crossed balefire beams in Shadar Logoth, the sickness Rand feels when he channels is getting worse and worse. By the time "Snow" rolls around, Rand feels such weakness even when he is not channeling. Why?

My theory centers on my belief that the Wanderer in Moridin, and Moridin is Ishamael. These two beliefs have been argued ad infinitum, and the Theory Post contains several pieces on this argument. Suffice to say that I agree with these theories.

In "Snow" page 98, Lews Therin says, "I thought I could build. I was wrong. We are not builders, not you, or I, or the other one. We are destroyers. Destroyers."

Even Rand thought Lews Therin's mention of a third person here was odd. Three pages later, Rand sees something very strange. He is struck with a fit of weakness although not channeling. The book reads, "He turned to the window, to fetch the leather scrip, and a wave of dizziness hit him. Knees turning to water, he stumbled. A shimmering face he could not make out flashed through his head. With an effort, he caught himself, forced his legs straight. And the whirling sensation vanished. Lews Therin panted hoarsely in the shadows. Could the face be his?"

Who was the owner of this face? Its appearance is very similar to that of Ba'alzamon's in The Eye of the World, especially in the first couple of dreams Rand had. Secondly, in the prologue to The Eye of the World, Lews Therin screamed and panted hoarsely after Ishamael gave him recognition of what he had done.

These facts are a bit sketchy. But when you combine them with the myriad theories supporting Ishamael as Moridin, and Moridin as the Wanderer, a trend develops. I believe that Ishamael infected Rand when their balefire beams crossed. This is why Rand now gets sick whenever he channels. The infection is creating a doppelganger in Rand. Rand is essentially infected with an incarnation of Ishamael, and Lews Therin knows this already. This is Ishamael's way of turning Rand to the Dark One, thus ensuring the Dark One's victory at Tarmon Gai'don and the end to the Wheel of Time.

wotmania says: Well, I would certainly agree that the other destroyer is Moridin/Ishamael. But I am not so sure that the wanderer was purposely trying to infect Rand. I do not have access to my books at the exact time I am writing this, but I recall that the wanderer seemed a little surprised/shook up by the crossing of their balefire streams as well. Personally, I do no think the wanderer (who I agree was Moridin) planned on crossing the streams (but you said crossing the streams was bad... ) with Rand in Shadar Logoth. So to sum up my rambling - I would tend to agree the third destroyer is Moridin/Ishamael, but I am not sure whether or not the incident in Shadar Logoth has anything to do with Rand's current channeling problems. Perhaps we will know in Winter's Heart if Rand manages to cleanse saidin and still has problems channeling...